The Finer Frontier

Gilcrease Museum, renowned the world over for its vast collection of fine art from and inspired by the West and frontier days, has a new Rendezvous planned in April for art lovers everywhere.

The annual Rendezvous Artists’ Retrospective Exhibition and Art Sale opens Thursday, April 18, and runs through July 14, although most of the excitement takes place opening weekend.

With every year, Rendezvous further expands the genre of Western art, as remarkable a feat as its intended purpose – to raise funds for the purchase of new additions to the collection.

This year’s featured artists are a painter and sculptor. Martin Grelle, of Clifton, Texas, draws and paints subjects that could be lifted from his own rural life. An award-winning artist, he has been invited frequently to show his work at grand events, including the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Prix de West Invitational. Herb Mignery, of Loveland, Colo., doesn’t use live models when he sculpts. A lifetime of observation as a cowhand plus fine-hewed skill offers him most everything he needs to pull his cowboy, Native American and other subjects from out of bronze. Among his many awards is a gold medal from the National Sculpture Society and the Maurice B. Heuter Prize.

Rendezvous Artists’ Retrospective Exhibition and Art Sale takes place at Gilcrease, 1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Road. Prospective buyers can view the art on opening day before heading to the sale event Friday, April 19. Call 918.596.2725 for sale details.

Leading up to the big night’s sale, Gilcrease welcomes Mignery and Grelle to speak with visitors in the museum’s Tom Gilcrease Jr. Auditorium. Mignery will speak 10:30-11:30 a.m., while Grelle is scheduled for 1:30-2:30 p.m. Talks are free with museum admission.

Brunch with both artists is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, April 20, at The Restaurant at Gilcrease for $19.95. Reservations are available by phone, 918.596.2720. For more about Rendezvous events and its artists, visit www.gilcrease.utulsa.edu.